Method and apparatus for sanding and polishing spools and the like



Oct. 6, 1953 c. J. LIPPOLD METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SANDING AND POLISHING SPOOLS AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10. 1948 INVENTOR CARL J. LIPPULD AMA LIZ.

0. J. LIPPOLD METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SANDING AND POLISHING SPOOLS AND THE LIKE Oct. 6, 1953 Filed Feb. 10, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CARL .1 LIPPULD ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1953 c. J. LlPPOLD 2,654,183

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SANDING AND POLISHING SPOOL-S AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 10. 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I0 o a: o 0 w m g,

CA EL J. LIPP/JLJJ ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1953 .1. LIPPQLD 2,654,188

C. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SANDING AND POLISHING SPOOLS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 10, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR I. EARL J LIPPULJJ .x l MIMI/04w ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 6, 1953 ass gns METHOD APPARATUS FOR SANDING AND POLISHING SPOOLS AND THE LIKE Carl J. Lippold, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignor to J. M. Nash Company Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 10, 1948, Serial No. 7,416

18 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in "kiw as are used for natural or synthetic silk and require to be resurfaced before being re-used. In use, the spool heads become roughened or nicked or gummed and before they can be re-used, they must be restored to substantially perfect smoothness to avoid injury to the threads wound thereon and discharged over the spool heads.

It will be noted that the new finishing methods herein disclosed may be largely or entirely performed by hand.

The objects of the invention include the provision of abrasive strips which are pre-formed to fit the contours of the work and are supported at such contours from the work-engaging or abrasive side of the strip in order to afford completely flexible and yielding pressure support of the rear face in pressure engagement with the work. It is a further object of the invention to effect final finishing by automatically controlled burnishing operations engaging particularly those surfaces of the work contacted by the yarn threads as they are delivered from the spools.

The mechanical features of the present device may constitute a separate machine made for the special purposes hereof, or they may be embodied in an attachment applicable to existing machines of the type illustrated in the patents above identified.

Other objects of the invention will be more clearly apparent in the light of the following disclosure.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an-end elevation of the machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view in perspective showing a sanding pad mounting and abrasive sheet guide. 7

Fig. 4 is a view in horizontal section through the guide illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view in rear elevation partially broken away and illustrating the sanding pad mounting.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view in plan of burnishing apparatus as viewed from the position indicated at 6-6 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a view taken on the line 'I-'| of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view taken on line 8--8 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view in rear elevation showing the locking arrangement for the reciprocating and tilting sub-frame.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scaletaken on line ll-|l of Fig. 10.

As in the devices of the prior patents above identified, the basic machine used comprises a turret shaft l0 mounted in a suitable frame and supporting head stock II and tail stock 12. The

shaft is slowly rotated from motor 13 through the belt drive l4, and the double worm gear reduction I5. The head stock H carries live spindles I6 which are equipped with pulleys and continuously driven by a belt 11 which passes circuitously about the several pulleys which are remote from the idler pulley I8 and the driving pulley 19, the latter being mounted on the shaft primarily driven from motor l3 by belt 14. In the course of turret rotation that spindle driving pulley which is at the loading station A (Fig. 1), lies between the driving pulley l9 and the idler l8 and is therefore out of contact with the belt. At this point, the rotation of the spindle is arrested by a brake shoe 2| which operates on the sheave I10 with which each spindle is provided (Fig. 2).

The dead spindles 23 mounted in the tail stock l2 are biased toward spindles 16 but are provided with annularly beveled retracting cam followers 24 which, in the course of turret rotation,

engage the surfaces of the complementary stationary cam member 25 to retract successive dead spindles. This allows the release of the respective finished workpieces and, as the turret continues to revolve and each cam follower 24 clears cam 25, a fresh workpiece is picked up from the supports 26 at loading station A in which the workpiece has been placed by the operator. The workpiece shown in Fig. 2 at 21 comprises, for the purposes of this disclosure, a spool having heads 29.

As the turret revolves, the spool in general and the heads in particular are subjected to progressively finer abrasive action and ultimately to a burnishing operation by means now to be disclosed.

Suspended by the links 30 at the rear of the machine is a bar 3| upon which are mounted the arms 32 connected by tie rod 33 at their lower support of the sanding devices.

. 3 ends and curved forwardly at their upper ends, the assembly constituting a sub-frame for the The entire subframe may be oscillated to an inoperative position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, being pivotal comprise either paper or fabric, with or without abrasive grains on the surface, are supplied in rolls 42 respectively carried by the arm extensions 43 and rods 44. For at least the first two webs encountered by the workpieces during crahlygsgoredio iaqilitate its folding sharply the sub-frame is held by gravjty-ibiasiin eitherrof.

the illustrated positions.

During the normal usejgi the machine, the

. yieldafble "thereon under compression of spring I01, (Fig. ll) Thefgui demernbers l'Qllare'al-so oscillatable on the supporting arms *98 from the position shown in "full flines' in Fig. -10 to the Do. ions-shown in dotted lines-in-snch "ViBW. in d r thatt syma ds i 'lat n w e connected by a link "1192 -"\vhich is pivoted to one of the guide "members 1 (mi at P03; above its center of oscillation "and is pivoted 'to -the other-upon a clamp" bolt *l lld fwhich isflocated below" its -center of 'o scillation. This clamp bolt has a handle #05 bYmeansqf which theeyeHQEat the endo{ link It; may "be "clamped to the member 1330,; or relieas ejg l' to permt swinging movement. -Whenfthe clan p" bolt f; is' tur ned' to-relax itscoinpression on thefeye "i 06, the same "handle may 1 be used to. oscillate, counterclockwise the guide member idq w en 'atthe -leftfas viewed in Fig. 10. With the guideunembers FM! swung-to a horizontaliposition theoross bar 4M of the sub frame will be -i eleas ed 'vgihereby the sub-irarneunay be oscillated from its full line position to its dotted herq tiqe esshj wni fia p ith the'gui-dvm'embers place-to confine the cross bars 4 00, the sub-frame "w-ill be'held al as-op rativ position but "will be permitted 'free vibration ateraliy.

The lateral-vibration ofthesubeirameis actually oscillatory aboutthe upper-centers-oflink 3t? but its amplitude -sl'ight-that "it mayhe regarded as "vibratory reciprocation. For efiectm such vibration, the *link QO which is' at th'e 16ft as viewed in nigga i provided-with abell crank arm at 23 slotted to receive a connection, adjustable and radius, with'thepitman 34; which is reciprocated by-an ccentricfi on the shaft 36*whichcomprises-an intermediate shaft ixr-the double mm gear reductiomrnechanism i5; As shaft-'i'i'fi rotates, th'e entire-'-s'ub-frame is moved to and fro with an amplitude determinable 'by thepoint at which the pitm-an connected a to the bel-l crank zii.

"The upwardly extending arms 32401? the subfranie 7 have their upper J endscross-connected at various points by bars 40 (Fig, 2) whieh'support ui various abrasive'webs'and the guides therefor, the l latter b i "moreparticularly' illustrated V r 7 5 inFigspB-to '5. The abrasive webs 6-l ;which*may guide rod 59 is self-adjusting to provide the The locking arrangement, which must surfa inbrasiveiwebzdl. adjacent the right angle fold 45 "alengfih'e. lines indicated at 45, 46, 41 in Fig. 3 and Fig, *i Carried by each of the cross bars in i *ab 'clgetio clamped thereto as shown in agui "a; "This bracket includes a guide e at'fil which engages the back side of the therein. .For holding the web releasably to such "surface, I provide an eccentrically mounted clamping disk 52 freelyrotatable on the headed pintle St-and adapted, when its side of greater radius isp-resented to surface 51, to clamp :the we'btl theretoasshown in 'Fig. 4. The-clamping eccentric -"5-2 is "freely rotatable to and ifrom clamping positionunder the manipulation of the operator.

The pint-113 53 has a shoulder at 54 clampingly engaged "with an eccentric disk 55 whereby r such dislris held- *to the-clamping surface :56 of the bracket arm 5'? under pressure provided by the nut id'on-thethreaded end of the pintle53 This disk is-set to any desired degree of :rearurardi prov jection as viewed in- Fig. 4 to fit within -the channel formed in web 4! by the .pre-scored creases 4 5-, 46 1 and M. For a deeper channel, the eccentric 'disk 55 would be adjusted Ito present its greatest radius rearwardly. For a less deep channel, itwodldbe adjusted to present :a portion of lesser radius to engage :in .the channel. In any such position, it is held bycclamping'prese sure developed i n the tightenin pf nut 58.

A transverse bore through thelpintle :53 :reeeivesthe guiderod fiil. This rod carriesaffinger 60 which lies behind the channel 0f the abrasive web -to hold 1 such 1 channel properly I'fitted about the formingdisk 155. -At its forward end the guide ro'd 59 hasanother ringer .at 8! engaging the peripheral portionof disk fifi which lies .at the frorit. Th'uain all positions ofthe diskgthe desired backingsupport between. finger 1 69 and the abrasive 'webr Due to the operation of the disk 55 and zthe coasting :surfaces of the'blanketclampifia, the several-webs fedsfrom the supply spools will, i in each ins'tance, i be formed to provide forwardly liacing 'channels:in'iwhich .the abrasive surfiace of the web lies innermost. The channels-will increase in depth progressively asrshownat fifl-in lmmediately :below. :each of theibars 416, 'the space between the sub-frame arms 32 isspanned by the pintle rods 64 which supportztherespective pads 'whichiback 'the abrasive zWebS. .These pads are, for the purposes :o'f 'the present disel'osureg' arranged insetsof threeindividuallyadjustable and individually pivoted to the ipintle rods 84 "There is'a -wideeentral pad-'at B'i-and narrower pads 66,- '61-"at eaehside thereof, as best shown in Fig. 5. Each pad comprises-ahead -68 whichsupports broom'eorn or the like at-'69-- as taught in the prior patents-aforesaid. For the purposes-of thepresentinvention,- however, the broom' corn is covered-with a sheet of-=spon-ge rubber or other resilient material at 'lfl thereby providing a smoother support for theabr'asive web and a better distribution of flexibly yielding pressure thereto. The pressure is furnished by the resilience of the broom corn and the adjustment of the appropriate screw or set screws H, these being threaded through sockets provided in the bracket 50.

The channels formed in the abrasive webs are accommodated by the space between the central pads 65 and the margin pads 66, 61. The broad surface of the web between the channels is supported on the resiliently yielding facing of the central pad 65.

While the sanding operations are calculated to remove nicks and to smooth all of the major surfaces of the spool or workpiece 21, it will be noted that there are some areas which may not adequately be polished. Accordingly, I provide for a series of burnishing operations by the mechanism best shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the location of which is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Reference has been made to the links 30 by which the sub-frame is pivoted for lateral reciprocatory vibration. These links are carried on bars 75 and in order that the entire apparatus may be handled unitarily as an attachment to existing machines, I prefer to extend these same bars inwardly as shown in Fig. 6 to provide a support for the cross bar l6 upon which the burnishing mechanism is carried.

In the path of the spools or other workpieces as they revolve with the turret and rotate upon their axes, I provide at least one, and preferably a succession of burnishing members 11 (Figs. 6, 7 and 9). For the purposes of the present device, each of these is preferably semi-cylindrical as best shown in Fig. 6 and each is mounted individually on a leaf spring 18 carried by an arm "is of a clamping bracket 80 fast to the bar 16. For the particular purpose of burnishing the spool 2?, I design these burnishing tools ll to fit those surfaces of the spool immediately adjacent the bases of the flange 29 thereto, since the abrasive material cannot have adequately been forced into the angle between the flange and the body of the spool.

There remains the problem of polishing or burnishing all surfaces on the rounded periphery of the flange 29.

For this purpose, I provide a separate clamping bracket 83 at each end of the spool. Interme- F diate the ends of these respective clamping brackets, I provide fulcrum pins 84 and on these pins I pivot arms 35 urged upwardly by compression springs 85 seated upon the outer ends of brackets 83.

Each of the arms 85 comprises means such as the ears 8! for the support of the burnishing tool 83 which is fulcrumed on the cross pin 89 and adjusted by set screws 90. As best shown in Fig. 6, each tool 88 has a groove 9| which is V-shaped in cross section and relatively deep at the end first engaged by the flanges of spool 21 but gradually decreases in depth until it runs out completely at the remote end of the tool. Where the flanges of the workpiece first encounter the tools, the surfaces of the V-shaped groove will engage the flanges near the flat faces thereof as shown in Fig. 8, but as the grooves decrease in depth, the point of engagement will gradually move about the arc of the periphery of the flange until, before the flange leaves the tool, the flat surface of the tool is engaged with the extreme central periphery thereof.

Since the tool is bodily yieldable underbias of compression spring 86', it is desirable to push thetool' out of the way in the event that particular spindles of the turret carry no workpiece. For this purpose, each of the arms is desirably provided with abracket 93 carrying a cam 94 which, during normal operation, is spaced from the collar 22 of live spindle I6, but is so located that it will engage such spindle for the positioning of tool88 in the event that the spindle carries no workpiece 21.

While the method involved will probably be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description of the apparatus preferably used in the practice of such method, it may be desirable to summarize the method briefly as follows:

Insofar as the abrasive or polishing webs have any substance, they are preferably scored where they are to fold in passing over the supporting pads to make the channels in which the flanges of the spools are engaged during the polishing operation. The scoring subdivides the webs into spool shank or body engaging zones and zones conformable to the outer periphery and both faces of the spool heads.

The materials thus preliminarily scored are fed over resiliently yieldable supporting surfaces which are spaced to receive the channels formed in the webs by web-supporting and deforming members adjustably fitted within the channels. By supporting the abrasively lined channels'from within, I am able to permit the abrasive web to yield outwardly in all directions.

With reference to the abrasive web or webs' thus supported, a succession of rotating spools are passed along the curved paths into and outof contact with the abrading surfaces of suc-' cessive webs with the peripheries of the spoolheads or flanges in the pre-formed channels ofthe webs, while yielding pressure is applied from the outside of the web to hold their abrasive surfaces to the work in the several zones above described.

After being'sanded with abrasive webs of progressively increasing fineness, the final operation performed by the last web in the series may be a polishing operation, forwhich purpose the web may comprise an unsanded fabric such as burlap or the like. A fabric web does not need preliminary scoring, but the formation of the channels therein and the relative movement of the spools with regard thereto is identical to that above described.

Thereupon, during the continued rotation of the spools and their continued movement upon an orbital path, they come into contact with yieldably supported burnishing or polishing tools, the last of which comprises means for exerting burnishing pressure simultaneously upon opposite sides of the rounded peripheries of the. spool flanges and thereupon progressively shift-- ing the points of application of such pressure to-- ward the peripheral center lines of the flanges: during the continued application of such pres sure to the flanges.

The result is a workpiece which is not merely perfectly smooth throughout all portions of its. surfaces contacted by the thread wound on the spool, but is actually highly polished, thereby virtually eliminating injury to the'thread'dur ing its unwinding from such a spool.

In the preferred practice of the method herein disclosed, the circular flangesof the work-- pieces move into and fromthe channeled, abra i fie ii and 3 i l 'q @3 3? is osed 9 Djc'isit thes'fiaee hettqeeiilthe pads and' approxi matelii cg esgqndii g in width thereto; saidfepiiier being adapted to channel' a web and to: ppsilfioll the channel the, space between. said Dads-with its abrasive surface at the interiorift ec ina a. c, T156 h e 1 .w th a pa 91- Pad ving edges mutually spaced and adapted to r e ceive between the g the cha nelqf at} abrasive Web? of a eb Qtm ee-.- yie slismsled: alien: ii i h he q z nh lte fi et n itudi f 'bini the eilective gp rtigg of; the channel said m ie F ld? .eqn n e s a la e h in a. thiclg'hess appi oigimately'cprrespq dingg tq the" Zi'dthef the qha nel, gand;a complementary surfaces baced fremsaid forming device and be tfliieezi Which anddaid fia gea portion of the chariiiel of the web extends. A M l H 5. In a z lachipeforabrasively finishing'flanged fierkiiieces with; a channeled" abrasive web; the cdihbinatio with a V braclget ,pgovided" with a clamping pintle, 9; a cha nnel f o rn 1er cqmprisa mg a disk ecce riti icall moqnted on thepintle The m atiqnfis ,iQrt ii 9T .rotatable uri amiirtibn'Of'saicP intimate-ariarr'dirr between cdriibinatio'n with a bracket having a short arm provided with a terminal clamping face and a lb'rigr ar'm' spaced therefrom, bf a pintle provided with shoiilder and a head and projectirig from the longer arm" transversely in; front bf said cla'lrfiiiihg face, an eccentric web' channel-fofming disk rotatable upon the pintle between said a 'ms' and having a hub pbftion clam ing'l engaged by the" flange of the b'ifitl; and an eccentric clam ing member mbuiite'd On the bintle hetweeii th'e shb'il'ldr and the ege am; scillatablje thereon to and from clamping mbvment t qwar'a said face;

8. The device of claim 7 in further iioiz'ifiiiiati'bfl a disli which the di is rdtatlablyl ad'u'stabl; sjaiq ie ii in i q 's'. m s f the., :1 piee 9 he. 915 K, n tnre el e li d ed lie m ifi 1 w e eby h n of he nht i eby i deter-.1

is ed,

we With'sdcl'isi i face.

ng providee Witha i'ifildi 9 by the pads to engagement with the burnishing tool.

13. A machine of the character described comprising the combination with a frame and a work spindle mounted on the frame, of a support for an abrasive web including a web channelling former, a sub-frame mounted on the machine frame and comprising a carriage relatively movable in a direction transverse respecting said channel, and means for moving said carriage in said direction for engaging the sides of said channel with the faces of a flanged workpiece.

14. A spool finishing machine comprising a spindle for rotating a spool having a flange in .combination with a, pad for the support of an abrasive web for sanding the spool, said pad having spaced portions adapted to accommodate the flange, a web-channelling former adjacent the pad for holding the channel or the channeled web in the space between the pad portions aforesaid, a carriage movable respecting the spindle in a direction axially thereof and transverse with respect to the channel of said web, supports for the pad and the former on said carriage, and

means for reciprocating the carriage whereby to bring opposing faces of the channeled web into contact with opposing faces of the spool flange.

15. A method of polishing spools for thread, such method consisting in, rotating a spool while moving it upon an arcuate path, bringing said a spool into abrasive contact with a channeled abrasive web, carrying its head into the channel of the web, and applying yielding pressure to the web for holding its abrasive surfaces against the spool.

16. The method recited in claim 15 in combination with the further step of moving the channeled web axially respecting the spool while the spool flange is disposed within the channel and the spool is in rotation, thereby bringing abrasive surfaces at opposite sides of the channel into contact with opposite faces of the spool flange.

17. In a machine for finishing tools having a revolving turret and spool supporting spindles rotatable on axes transverse respecting the path of advance of the turret, the combination with pads for the support of abrasive webs, of formers for channeling said webs, said pads havingspaced edges adapted to accommodate the web channels therebetween.

18. A surface compacting burnishing tool for a rotating workpiece of circular cross section and convex periphery, said tool comprising an elongated member having a top surface and a groove in said top surface which progressively varies in depth from a relatively deep portion to a point where the groove merges with said top surface,

the upper margins of the groove walls being gradually convergent throughout their length from the deep end of the groove to said point where the groove merges with the top surface, said top surface and groove walls constituting hard, surface-compacting faces to compact the surface material of the workpiece rotated thereagainst, said top extending beyond the point where the groove merges therewith to constitute a flat burnishing face, together with means for the support of a workpiece, said means comprising means for rotating the workpiece on its axis of rotation and means for bodily moving the workpiece on a path transverse to said axis, means for supporting the tool in said path whereby the incidence of coaction of the workpiece with the tool is transverse to said axis and aligned with the elongation of the tool, said means including resilient yieldable means to bias the tool against the workpiece, the path of the workpiece intersecting the groove in the tool whereby the convex periphery of the rotating workpiece enters the groove of the tool and moves progressively from one end of the groove toward the other whereby burnishing pressure is progressively angularly transferred about said convex periphery, said path extending beyond the point where the groove merges with the top surface of the tool whereby the crown of the workpiece is burnished on the top surface of the tool.

CARL J. LIPPOLD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 19,003 Wills Nov. 14, 1933 19,988 Frampton Apr. 20, 1858 57,790 Squire Sept. 4, 1866 348,146 Artman Aug. 24, 1886 645,717 Fletcher Mar. 20, 1900 763,315 Nash June 21, 1904 897,286 Haskell Sept. 1, 1908 1,459,741 Nash June 26, 1923 1,520,488 Tone Dec. 23, 1924 1,577,485 Nash Mar. 23, 1926 1,812,909 'Irinquet et al July 7, 1931 1,886,699 Larson Nov. 8, 1932 2,018,671 Hildebrand Oct. 29, 1935 2,065,221 Hellyar Dec. 22, 1936 2,119,954 Lippold June 7, 1938 2,135,200 Reeves Nov. 1, 1938 2,227,588 Kemp Jan. 7, 1941 2,252,096 Pew Aug. 12, 1941 2,272,055 Carlson Feb. 3, 1942 2,296,990 Fowler Sept. 29, 1942 2,298,067 Paull et al. Oct. 6. 1942 2,390,651 Iseman Dec. 11, 1945 

